By Raquel Martori
For Cuban actor Alejandro Phillips, portraying one of the great boxers of all time, the triple world and Olympic champion Teófilo Stevenson (1952-2012), on film was “a challenge, an honor, a pride and also a responsibility.”
“It wasn’t in my dreams and I appreciate it so much because it is a good story and a great opportunity,” he explains in an interview with EFE this young actor, currently participating in the 46th International Festival of New Latin American Cinema in Havana.
Under the direction of the renowned Cuban filmmaker Alejandro Gil, the film Theophilus It focuses mainly on Stevenson’s age from 17 to 27, the prodigious decade of his successful career, for which he is considered the most outstanding boxer of the 20th century in Cuba.
Phillips clarifies that Theophilus “It is not a biopic, it is a fiction film” based on the sports career of a personality that existed. That, he emphasizes, “shows you a path.”
A great opportunity
Teófilo is Phillips’ first leading role on the big screen, which he accepted when he was still studying the specialty of Theater Art, from which he graduated at the Higher Institute of Art (ISA) in Havana.
“For me it was the great opportunity and I began to build a dream from scratch. The preparation of the character was complicated because then I was just an observant fan who had never played sports,” he tells EFE.
But despite having a height of 1.90 – close to that of Stevenson – to approximate the physique of the star heavyweight in the ring he had to gain between 15 and 20 kilos and, in addition, learn a sport like boxing. It was “very difficult,” he remembers.
He began his physical preparation in a gym, but in parallel “he studied at the university, did theater, worked in a restaurant until 11 at night and at 9 in the morning he was in the ‘gym’ with the physical and mental load that one is subjected to within that space.”
“I worked to find a physique as close as possible to Teófilo, especially to achieve shoulders like his, and the training was very rigorous. In the last stage I managed to run 6 to 8 kilometers a day,” he detailed when recalling the almost two and a half years of preparation he carried out between 2020 and 2022.
“I knew for a few moments what it was like to push my body to the limit due to the blows I received. It was a very intense process until the time came to start filming,” he says.
Phillips saw that this film had a duality: “the physical part and the interpretation,” and that is why the first thing he did was “learn who Teófilo was.”
“He soon became someone very great and, due to the political context of Cuba at that time, he had a responsibility with a country, his family, the sport, coach Alcides Segarra and with himself,” he emphasizes.
Assume your personality
“You had to understand all that to play Teófilo. Training boxing conditions you physically, the way you speak, the way you move. You had to be in a gym, listen to the boxers, see how they thought, their ability to react, because the boxer is always on alert,” he points out.
To build the character he also read articles, talked with those who knew him, told him anecdotes and had a “fundamental pillar” in the boxer’s family that allowed him access to his photos, clothes and his story.
In this challenge, director Gil’s warning to represent Teófilo stands out: “Imitating is going to be a mistake, the important thing is to capture the essence and make an interpretation of what that personality was” and do “a goldsmith’s job, with the details.”
Gil’s script is “very good,” highlights the actor, adding that the film’s common thread is marked by the three Olympics in which Stevenson triumphed: Munich (1972), Montreal (1976) and Moscow (1980).
“If we achieve anything, it is to revive that symbol that is Teófilo. We cannot forget people like him, who gave so much glory to the country and literally put Cuba on the world map,” he considers.
He declares himself “proud” of what was achieved because “it was a very sacrificial film from the beginning to the final cut.”
“I have a lot of peace with the result, but in the end the audience will say the last word and I hope they can connect with the character, with the story, to remember and honor Teófilo. If we achieve that, then it was worth the sacrifice,” he added.
That moment is expected to come to fruition with the film’s release, scheduled for March 2026, on the occasion of Stevenson’s 74th birthday.
